MONMOUTH, Ore. -- A group of Willamette University cross country runners competed at the Ash Creek Preserve Invitational on Friday, Sept. 8. The event, hosted by Western Oregon University, included a 4.6-kilometer women's race and a 6.2-kilometer men's race. Hannah Swanson (Sr., Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS) of Willamette placed seventh in the women's race, while Michael Montague (So., San Diego, CA/Canyon Crest Academy) was 13th and Morris Wecker (Fr., Missoula, MT/Hellgate HS) was 14th in the men's race.

The Bearcat men placed fifth in the team standings. Willamette did not enter a complete team in the women's competition.

Swanson registered a time of 16:54.0. She was only 0.3 seconds out of fifth place, 3.2 seconds out of fourth and 5.3 seconds out of third. The first five runners in front of Swanson were from Simon Fraser University (Canada).

Julie Howley won the women's individual title by reaching the finish line in 16:24.6. She won by 13.9 seconds over teammate Addy Townesend in second at 16:38.5. Olvia Willett was third in 16:49.7, while Miryam Basett placed fourth at 16.50.8 and Chelsea Ribeiro was fifth at 16:53.7. Zennah Jepchumba from University of Alaska-Anchorage took sixth place at 16:53.8.

Joining Swanson for the WU women's team were Emily Evans (Jr., Anchorage, AK/South Anchorage HS) and Jamie Smith (So., Seattle, WA/Ballard HS). Evans placed 35th overall by completing the course in 17:56.9. Smith recorded a time of 18:38.6.

Felix Kemobi from Alaska-Anchorage won the mens' race with a time of 18.42.8. Rowan Doherty from Simon Fraser placed second in 18:45.8. Edwin Kangogo of Alaska-Anchorage followed in third at 18:56.6 and Garrett Kraal of Northwest Christian University (Ore.) was fourth at 18:57.1. Michael Martin of Lane Community College took fifth place in 19:06.8.

Montague placed 13th for Willamette in 19:21.2. Wecker took 14th place, but also received a time of 19:21.2. Cayce Reese (Fr., Louisville, CO/Monarch HS) took 26th place for the Bearcats in 19:47.8. Max Frankel (Fr., Richmond, VA/Maggie L. Walker Governor's School) finished 28th in 19:50.7. Also running for Willamette was Kellen Bulger (Fr., Spokane, WA/Ferris HS), who completed the course in 21:15.5

Simon Fraser won both the men's and women's team titles. In the men's standings, Simon Fraser's winning score was 36. Alaska-Anchorage placed second with a score of 53. Western Oregon was third at 97, with Northwest Christian in fourth at 110 and Willamette in fifth at 136. Concordia University (Ore.) placed sixth at 2144, while Lane CC was seventh at 163. A total of 13 teams competed in the men's race.

In the women's standings, Simon Fraser registered a perfect score of 15. Alaska-Anchorage was second with a score of 45. Linfield College placed third at 117, Northwest Christian was fourth at 147 and Corban University claimed fifth place at 160. University of Portland was seventh at 182. The women's race featured 12 team entries.